64
Ch.64 The Meat Melts
As days passed, the damage caused by monsters dwindled. After losing their queen, Gu Seo-ryong, the villains scattered and were captured one by one. Public safety, peace, and stability improved.
At this point, even A-City might envy us—such thoughts naturally arose as W-City became increasingly stable.
All of this was thanks to the heroes who tirelessly fought monsters and villains without a single proper day off.
Yet, despite this, the dissatisfaction of W-City’s citizens toward the heroes recently reached an all-time high.
The reason? Heroes were blocking citizens from approaching the Black Cat.
Lately, the Black Cat had been appearing here and there, even when no monster alerts were sounded. As if to show how peaceful W-City had become, the Black Cat lay quietly, napping in the sun.
Naturally, people who saw this wanted to pet the Black Cat.
But every time, heroes would rush in from somewhere and stop them.
“Now, now, you can’t do that. Don’t approach the Black Cat.”
“What’s with you guys? Why are you acting like you own the Black Cat and blocking us?”
“The Black Cat…? Hey, wait… Isn’t that…?”
“Come with us for a moment.”
“W-what?! Let go of me!”
They even went as far as arbitrarily detaining well-meaning citizens for interrogation!
If the heroes found that a citizen didn’t have a W-City resident card during their investigation, they’d make an emergency arrest.
“What the hell is this?! How can they do things like this?!”
“We just wanted to pet the Black Cat!”
“The Black Cat is a monster. This is all for the citizens’ safety—”
“If it’s for our safety, then why are you guys feeding and petting the Black Cat?!”
“W-well… We’re… Ahem.”
What made W-City’s citizens even more displeased was that the heroes would feed the Black Cat and pat its head right in front of them.
The blatant double standard—citizens couldn’t do it, but heroes could—only fueled their anger.
[Why the hell are they monopolizing the Black Cat?]
[These hero bastards, why do only they get to pet the Black Cat?]
[They feed the Black Cat, but why won’t they let citizens do the same? Are they insane?]
[It’s honestly infuriating how they block citizens from approaching the Black Cat but take photos and play around themselves.]
[They keep saying the Black Cat is dangerous or that it’s part of some secret operation—what kind of secret operation is this?!]
[If it’s a secret operation to pet the Black Cat’s head, why can’t citizens join in?]
[The Black Cat belongs to all of W-City! Not just the heroes!]
As the atmosphere grew increasingly hostile, Yoo Anna, the representative of W-City’s heroes, appeared before the press.
Yoo Anna briefly explained the current situation and its reasons to the disgruntled citizens.
[It’s an uncomfortable truth for us heroes, but the Black Cat has been helping W-City. However, we can’t deny it.]
[Right now, we’re making various attempts to control the Black Cat’s behavior. Citizen involvement could introduce variables and lead to unforeseen incidents…]
[Additionally, there have been cases where outsiders from other cities provoked the Black Cat, so we’re thoroughly vetting citizens who approach the Black Cat.]
After Yoo Anna’s explanation, public opinion split cleanly in half.
Some believed citizens shouldn’t recklessly approach the Black Cat, while others argued that since everyone already knew the Black Cat was safe, why couldn’t they pet it?
The ‘No Touching the Black Cat’ faction and the ‘Pet the Black Cat’ faction dubbed themselves the left and right factions, respectively, based on their ideological divide.
[So they’re just trying to win the Black Cat’s favor with food? Are they worried the Black Cat got upset because of the bad cats?]
[There are still people trying to feed the Black Cat poisoned or sedative-laced meat, so stopping citizens is the right call.]
[Since ancient times, it’s been said that cute things should only be admired, not touched.]
[Even if the Black Cat is W-City’s mascot, it’s still a monster. We should listen to the heroes.]
The ‘No Touching the Black Cat’ faction insisted that the Black Cat’s monstrous nature shouldn’t be forgotten and supported the heroes’ attempts to control it.
[Why can’t citizens feed the Black Cat?]
[Isn’t it because citizens have been feeding and petting the Black Cat that it hasn’t attacked us?]
[What if the Black Cat starts attacking citizens because it only listens to the heroes?]
[Citizens have the right to pet the Black Cat too!]
[The Black Cat should feel that all of W-City loves it. If it thinks only the heroes like it, why would it protect us? It’ll just become the heroes’ pet cat!]
The ‘Pet the Black Cat’ faction agreed with the heroes but argued that if winning the Black Cat’s favor was the goal, it’d be better if all citizens participated.
“Give us the Black Cat! The Black Cat belongs to all of W-City!”
“Citizens have the right to pet the Black Cat too!”
“The ‘Feed the Black Cat’ experience should be available to all citizens!”
Among them, the right faction, driven solely by their desire to pet the Black Cat, began sharing the Black Cat’s locations and staging protests against the heroes who stole their chance to interact with it.
About three days later, the Black Cat no longer napped near citizens.
Instead of parks or empty lots, the Black Cat now napped on building rooftops, peeking out just its head.
[Okay, maybe we were a bit too loud.]
[I feel kinda bad.]
[Black Cat TT_TT Come back TT_TT]
[Ah, damn it, I was planning to see the Black Cat this weekend, but if it’s on rooftops, I can’t get close.]
Every time the right faction citizens saw the Black Cat’s head peeking from the rooftops, they regretted their actions.
But soon, some began to think this wasn’t so bad after all.
[Cats usually prefer sleeping on cat towers rather than the ground, right?]
[Seeing it from the opposite rooftop is adorable.]
[It kinda feels like it’s watching over us from above to keep monsters away. I like it.]
[Honestly, the noise from people trying to feed it meat was getting annoying.]
[But now Starlight doesn’t show up even when the Black Cat naps openly in front of people.]
[It’s not that she doesn’t show up—the Black Cat just runs away every time she does.]
Only one person in W-City was unhappy with the current situation.
“Why won’t it eat the meat I give it?! Why does it run away only from me?!”
Yoo Anna grilled the meat she’d bought for the Black Cat and ate it herself, her face crumpling in frustration.
***
Why were heroes suddenly following me everywhere and throwing meat at me?
I didn’t have to wonder long—the heroes themselves answered my question.
“…Lately, more people we arrest refuse to say where they’re from.”
“I had a bad feeling, but it seems these guys really are here to kidnap the Black Cat.”
“They’re carrying some kind of bloody stuff, apparently.”
“Hey, shh, the Black Cat’s listening.”
The heroes knew I understood their conversations.
That’s because Starlight had told them everything about me.
Giving me meat, calling me cute or cool or thanking me, blocking citizens from approaching me—all of it was on Starlight’s orders.
“Does it really understand what we’re saying?”
“Eh, cat lovers always say stuff like, ‘My cat understands everything I say.’”
“How did our boss even become the Black Cat’s mom…?”
“Well, it makes sense. Thanks to all the monsters it catches, we finally have work-life balance.”
“True.”
When I quietly ate the meat, the heroes, thinking I was too distracted to listen, chatted and spilled information.
“I don’t know if we can really tame the Black Cat, but I don’t want it to leave W-City.”
“Isn’t the boss being too paranoid?”
“Well, since all the meat we give the Black Cat is expensed, it’s not like it’s costing us anything.”
“She even said she’d buy us a portion if we wanted to eat some ourselves…”
They took photos to expense the meat they gave me.
They fed me to make me attached to the heroes and W-City.
And to keep me from getting hungry and following someone else’s food.
“Black Cat~ Eat a lot, okay? And if some weirdo offers you tasty food and tells you to follow them, don’t go, alright?”
“Memorize our faces. If anyone other than us offers you meat, don’t eat it.”
“Oong oong oong.”
Apparently, there were people from other cities trying to take me away.
The heroes seemed to think I’d obediently follow anyone who offered me something delicious, and they were worried.
Maybe they figured that if they kept me full, I wouldn’t fall for food traps.
Now that I knew why they were feeding me, I decided to stop being wary and just accept the meat.
“Oh, right. Don’t get too close when taking photos with the Black Cat. The boss has been in a bad mood lately because of that.”
“Wait, really? Is she jealous?”
“When a Code Red happens, she’s the one who has to take responsibility and subdue the Black Cat. And after doing that a few times, the Black Cat started avoiding her. So when we have fun petting it and clinging to it, of course she gets mad.”
“Oh yeah, I heard a rumor. Guess what? The boss actually bought that.”
“Seriously? Wow… That’s insane.”
Over time, the heroes began treating my presence as their break spot.
While I ate meat, they’d bring their own snacks and eat beside me. After taking photos, they’d leave without lingering to avoid bothering me.
Occasionally, heroes with electricity or fire powers would even grill meat for me.
They weren’t great at it, but it was better than raw.
Then, one day.
After clearing out most of the monsters hiding underground in W-City, a group of Terror-class monsters—mistaking my spatial manipulation attacks for an underground monster—fled to the surface.
I eliminated the entire Terror-class horde before the emergency alert even sounded and quietly began eating them.
Then, Starlight landed in front of me.
“Huff… Huff… Huff…”
“Purrr…”
Given recent events, this was unusual.
Starlight usually only appeared for Disaster-class threats, very rarely for Annihilation-class, and never for murder-class.
It took me about seven seconds to wipe out the Terror-class horde—had she been nearby?
In that brief time, Starlight arrived, her head bowed and breathing heavily from overusing her powers.
“W-wait… just… a second…”
As I slowly sank into the shadows to escape, Starlight frantically pulled something from her bag.
The moment I saw it, my eyes widened.
“I… I was wrong… I’m sorry, okay? Really, I’m sorry, Black Cat! Can’t you give me a chance to apologize?”
I didn’t hear a word she said.
A box with simple yet luxurious packaging, the price tag on it, the rich meaty aroma cutting through Starlight’s egg-like scent—
Premium-grade, no, special 1++ grade beef… a whole box, with assorted cuts for grilling!
I’d only heard rumors about this.
Even in this monster-ridden era, such things still existed.
“I don’t like having to go back and forth like this either…”
“Oo… Oong?”
Wait, no way—did she bring this to give to me?
I opened my mouth and stared at the beef.
A single piece of this could buy 10kg, no, 20kg of pork shoulder.
In this era, where the government strictly controlled livestock and food production, only high-ranking officials or top-tier heroes could obtain this mythical beef.
That beautiful marbling, the fine layers of white fat—
Drool dripped from my mouth.
“Uh…”
Swish. As Starlight moved the beef to the left, my head followed.
Swish. When she moved it to the right, Starlight glanced at my perked-up tail and ears and spoke.
“So… do you want to eat it?”
“Waooong?!”
You’re really giving it to me?!
My eyes sparkled. Starlight beckoned me closer.
And so, on a deserted rooftop—
Sizzle… The sound of grilling meat filled the chilly air with a rich, savory aroma.
The meat cooked quickly under Starlight’s flames.
And then, before me… The perfectly grilled beef.
“Ooohhh…! Oooohhh…!”
“W-wait! Ouch!”
Lick lick lick lick! The moment Starlight held out the grilled meat between her palms, I couldn’t wait and licked her hands.
The flavor, the juiciness, the savory—it exploded in my mouth.
The meat melted the moment my tongue touched it.
“Ah… T-that tickles…!”
I pulled my tongue away from Starlight’s grinning face and nudged her with my paw for the next piece.
Starlight gave off a vaguely hurt vibe, but I didn’t care—I just waited impatiently for her to grill the next cut.
As she picked up a pinkish piece of meat and grilled it with perfect heat control, I let out an excited noise.
“Oooohhh!”
Starlight really is a good person!